Burnaby artists are among those featured in the 23rd annual Eastside Culture Crawl.
The annual event features more than 500 visual artists opening their studios, workspaces, garages and homes to invite in visitors, all across the Vancouver Eastside. A press release notes that the Eastside - the area bounded by Columbia Street, First Avenue, Victoria Drive and the waterfront – houses the highest concentration of visual artists, designers and craft makers in Canada.
It runs from Thursday, Nov. 14 to Sunday, Nov. 17, with venues open from 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
“Each year, we welcome visitors to discover the creativity and richness of the Eastside arts district, “ said Esther Rausenberg, executive director of the Eastside Culture Crawl, in a press release. “For our 23rd annual Crawl, we are also imparting an urgent message through our new Displacement exhibition that this vibrant community needs more support. As Vancouver’s artists continue to face immense hardships such as renovictions, rising rents and dwindling studio availability, it’s imperative we come together to protect creative spaces and celebrate the integrity of this incredible, industrious community and recognize the positive impact artists have on our society.”
The Crawl offers visitors a behind-the-scenes look at life as an artist, allowing them to see a wide range of artistic offerings – including painting, sculpture, pottery, photography, jewelry, glass art, furniture and more.
Among the Burnaby-connected artists who’ll be opening their doors for the Crawl are:
Iris Mes Low: Low, who immigrated to Canada from the Netherlands in the 1990s, paints surrealistic abstractions of West Coast landscapes. She works out of William Clark Studios, 1310 William St.
David Tycho: Tycho was born and raised in Burnaby and is a graduate of Burnaby Central Secondary School. Tycho’s work has straddled the genres of abstraction and representation, and his inspiration and subjects are varied – urban sprawl, pristine wilderness areas and the people he encounters in those spaces. He’s showing his work at Parker Street Studios, 1000 Parker St., Studio 430.
Kayan Hamadeh: Hamadeh specializes in portraits and figurative work in oil paintings and mixed media illustration. Her art is influenced by music, by her Middle Eastern background and by her upbringing in a predominately female household. Prevailing themes in her work are feminine identity and cultural identity. She’s showing her work at Studio 580, 580 Clark Dr.
The Displacement exhibition, featuring a juried exhibition of works by artists who have faced the challenge of eviction or who have found ways to survive displacement, is on at four venues: Arts Factory, the Firehall Arts Centre, the Cultch and Alternative Creations Gallery. It’s already open in advance of the Crawl weekend.
Full listings for all Eastside Culture Crawl events, artists, talks and venues can be found at www.culturecrawl.ca/events.
